Divemedic,
The declaration of independence did not create the Union, all it did was announce to King George that the colonies were in a state of rebellion. The Declaration was signed July 4, 1776. The Articles of Confederation (the precursor to the Constitution) were not ratified until November 15, 1777.
Technically, what you said is correct; the Declaration of Independence did
not, in and of itself, “create” the United States of America, and a “state of war” already existed by July 4, 1776. I think you’re missing key facts of the early formation of this nation though. The First Continental Congress formed in 1774, well before Lexington and Concord. Even more to the point, the
Committee of Correspondence had been formed in 1772-1773, establishing the groundwork for the Continental Congress, and what was to become a United States of America. At the First Continental Congress, Articles of Association were established, which essentially banded together what came to be the the United States, as the united States of America (note the small “u”). The
united States of America in 1774, established a means to peacefully resolve the same issues that later served as the impetus for a formal separation from the crown. Moreover, it was the crown that had made the most overt acts of a military nature, indeed the housing of soldiers in civilian homes was one of the specific “Intolerable Acts” the First Continental Congress sought to rectify.
So tell me how George Washington differed from the men we are now branding as terrorists.
I won’t even get into the tactics used by our Founders vs. the tactics of todays terrorists. Instead I’ll keep this to the philosophical and institutional differences.
First, George Washington fought at the head of a defined and
uniformed army representing a collection of established governments. Second, the united governments George Washington fought for had sought a resolution of the unfair practices of the crown for many, many years prior to an outbreak of hostilities. Even after the outbreak of overt war at Lexington and Concord, the
united States sought to peacefully resolve these issues such as by sending the crown the
Olive Branch Petition. Third, George Washington and those he fought for, sought a specific declared objective, namely a resolution to certain oppressive acts by the top level of
their own government. When that became impossible through peaceful means, they progressed to violence.
The terrorists we fight today have nothing in common with out Founders. They ramble on about various grievances we (America) have given them, but the fact is, we have acted in accordance with
their own governments. Our actions in Saudi Arabia might annoy these terrorists, but it has been done with the agreement of
their government. Our support of Israel might aggravate them, but it has been done in agreement with the Israeli government (moreover, it is the sovereign right of a nation to choose who its “friends” are, and how to support them). The terrorists of today are not representative of
any government, nor are they even representative of a single nation. They are a mixed bag of
individuals from many nations striking out against anybody their whim dictates on a given day; see terrorists attacks in Spain, Indonesia, Australia, the UK, the US, Casablanca, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, et cetera (those are just some of the specified
al-Qeada attacks). They do not represent a nation, government, or even majority of citizens from a nation.
Today’s militant muslim extremists have
nothing in common with our Founders. To suggest they do is offensive and smacks of ignorance bordering on delusional.
According to Jefferson we're long overdue.
:barf: